Cup of Tea?

by Jane Josephs

“I live in a high and holy place, but also with those who are contrite…” –Isaiah 57:15b

The other day I put a Christian music playlist on YouTube and sat down for a little one-on-one with the Lord. But as I was listening, a commercial interrupted the music, and rather than being annoyed, what I saw made me smile. A grandpa was in his workshop carefully painting and assembling a small table. The next scene showed him wearing a crazy, silly, floppy-rimmed hat and having tea with his granddaughter at the table he has just finished building for her. Priceless!

God tells the prophet Isaiah, “I live in a high and holy place…” and we immediately think of a glorious, radiant heaven filled with streets of gold and majestic angels playing perfectly-tuned harps. But what if it’s more like the grandpa’s workshop, the place where He’s preparing the table for us? And who might we invite to join us for tea?

God assures us next in this passage from Isaiah that while He does indeed live in a high and holy place, He also is willing to put on His crazy hat, squeeze into a tiny child-sized chair and have tea with “those who are contrite and lowly in spirit” (us kids). He did that very thing when He sent Jesus, first wrapped in swaddling clothes and later wearing a crown of thorns.

I’m seldom willing to watch a commercial from beginning to end these days, but this one so perfectly captured what I was experiencing in my one-on-one with God that I had to share it. I hope you can find some time for tea with God today, dear friends. And don’t forget YOUR hat!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Dear Lord, thank You for leaving Your throne in glory to dwell among us. Help us walk in humility with gratitude for all You do for us. In Your name we pray, Amen.